


Sonatas from Sibella

by isingonly4myangel



Category: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - Lutvak/Freedman
Genre: Classical Music, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:35:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25895296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isingonly4myangel/pseuds/isingonly4myangel
Summary: There was something incredibly picturesque about Sibella in all her beauty at the piano, framed in grey through the large windows at the opposite end of the room. The music seemed perfectly paired with the gentle sound of the rain falling outside, and Phoebe closed her eyes for a moment to listen to it all.
Relationships: Phoebe D'Ysquith/Sibella Hallward
Kudos: 4





	Sonatas from Sibella

**Author's Note:**

> Older work, only just posting here. Written as a response to a prompt- @isingonly4myangel on Tumblr!  
> Pieces referenced are 'Nocturne in E-Flat Major' (Chopin) and Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven), highly recommend listening to them before or while you read- I had them on repeat writing this!

Phoebe’s eyes were still heavy from sleep as she walked down the hallway, her hair free of its normal plait and falling in ringlets over her shoulders. She had been tired after the previous night’s escapades- with first the dinner party at the Sitwells’ and then Sibella in her bed- and had gone to take a nap, leaving her blonde lover downstairs.

As she swept down the staircase on her way to the drawing room, she stopped suddenly. There was music playing, the piano carrying a melody through the castle. Phoebe could not think of who might be playing it, unless Monty were home early. Neither she nor Sibella ever touched the piano, and none of the servants would dare do any more than dust it. She turned to the left of the stairs, rerouting to the music room to investigate.

Poking her head around the corner to look through the slightly open door, her expression shifted to one of almost astonishment. There on the piano bench was Sibella! Her fingers drifted across the keyboard expertly, no sheet music on the stand in front of her. The piece she was playing was one of the loveliest Phoebe had ever heard. Based in a waltz time, there was a melody line floating over the top, and Phoebe found that she could not bring herself to interrupt the blonde. The piano was at an angle, its side to the door, and Phoebe knew that she could not be seen.

There was something incredibly picturesque about Sibella in all her beauty at the piano, framed in grey through the large windows at the opposite end of the room. The music seemed perfectly paired with the gentle sound of the rain falling outside, and Phoebe closed her eyes for a moment to listen to it all.

When Sibella had finished, her fingers were still against the keyboard, and she left her hands there for a moment, smiling slightly. “Oh, Sibella,” Phoebe breathed from her place in the doorway. The blonde jumped, nearly falling off the bench. “That was lovely! I didn’t know you played!” The brunette stepped into the room, crossing to the piano.

“I…” stammered Sibella, caught off-guard. “I’ve begun to pick it up again, I was wondering if I remembered how to play that piece.”

“It’s beautiful! What is it?”

“Chopin. Nocturne, in E-Flat Major.”

“Why did you ever stop playing? You do it so well!” Phoebe gave her a smile full of admiration.

“I got married to a man who does not care to keep his instrument in tune, and has better things for his wife to do than sit at a piano bench all day.” Sibella spoke wistfully, following the remark with a distasteful sigh.

“Play something else?” Phoebe looked at her imploringly.

The blonde smiled and slid to one side of the piano bench, motioning for Phoebe to sit beside her. “The first movement of Moonlight Sonata,” murmured Sibella. “For you look wonderful in moonlight.” Phoebe giggled in response.

This piece sounded darker than the first, dominated by lower notes in a driving tempo. Phoebe watched enchanted as Sibella’s fingers moved across the keys. For just a moment, Phoebe tore her eyes from the blonde’s hands and shifted her gaze to her face. Sibella was concentrating, that was clear, but she appeared happy to do so. Phoebe had rarely seen the blonde so calm, so contented. Somehow she was made even more beautiful by her musical accompaniment, with the tones of grey in her eyes brought out by the deep grey skies behind them.

The piece ended, and Sibella rested her hands against the keys, turning to Phoebe with a smile. The brunette returned the smile and leaned in to press her lips to Sibella’s in a kiss. Phoebe felt one of Sibella’s hands lightly against her cheek, the other on her waist.

At last Phoebe pulled away, both of them slightly breathless. “If I ring for tea, will you play me something else when I come back?” questioned the brunette in a whisper.

“Yes, of course,” replied Sibella and pulled the brunette into an embrace momentarily before releasing her. Phoebe hurried out of the room, on her way to find Miss Shingle, leaving Sibella at the piano, waiting for her return.

Phoebe spent the rest of the day in a chair in the music room, listening to her lover play the piano. Sibella played Beethoven and Chopin, Mozart and Debussy and Saint-Saëns, alternating between what she could remember and the music she had found in the room. Sibella played for hours, through a variety of pieces and composers, smiling through it all.


End file.
